Category Archives: Materials

This last month we experimented with Polycarbonate filament, a member of Ultimaker’s recently released batch of engineering materials. In addition to being able to produce some really nice looking prints, Polycarbonate also possesses some favorable properties. We tested the material on an Ultimaker 2+. While Ultimaker’s Cura slicing software is optimized for usage of Polycarbonate on an Ultimaker 3D printer, any other 3D printer that accepts 2.85 mm filament should be able to print fine with it.

The recommended applications for Polycarbonate are: “molds, tools, functional prototypes and parts for short-run manufacturing”. It’s also been said that Polycarbonate is suitable for making lamp shades, due to its flame retardant characteristics. But, until we have a chance to verify the safety of this use case, we recommend not doing so.

Using Cura’s built-in material profiles, Polycarbonate proved to be a relatively easy material to work with. It was simply a matter of dragging the STL files into Cura, selecting the material (PC), and saving the sliced piece. We opted to enable the “Spiralize Outer Contour” feature in Cura for our “Twisted Gear” vase print, which greatly enhanced the appearance of the finished print. For first layer adhesion, we used a glue stick. Additionally, while it’s recommended to print Polycarbonate with an enclosure (not unlike ABS), we managed to produce some high-quality prints without actually doing so:

In the following video, we demonstrate one of the key differences between Polycarbonate and PLA (Polylactic Acid) 3D printing filaments. Polycarbonate maintains dimensional stability up to 110° Celsius. In plain English, Polycarbonate pieces can withstand higher temperatures than other filaments without melting or falling apart. To illustrate, we submerged one of our Polycarbonate prints in 96° Celsius water and it emerged unaffected. A PLA piece of the exact same geometry immediately wilted under the exact same heat stress.

Thus, to summarize: Polycarbonate is nice material for producing high-quality prints, and along with it being able to withstand more heat stress than the average spool of PLA, Polycarbonate can be useful for a broader range of applications.

“There’s a great future in plastics.” Really?!

In 1967 when I saw The Graduate (13 times), I laughed heartily every time at this ironic exchange:

Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word.
Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: Plastics.
Benjamin: Exactly how do you mean?
Mr. McGuire: There’s a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?

Ben is disillusioned with his parents’ lifestyle and their expectations for him. In this memorable scene in a swimming pool, Mr. McGuire shares with Ben his belief that the future is in plastics.

At that time, the general public (of which I was a young part) got that reference to plastics as a reference to something merely . . . well, tacky and phony like the world of Ben’s parents. I hardly saw it as the shape of the future.

Yet here we are in the future, and 3D print technology is helping people in all walks of life and at all ages in small and in dramatic ways, helping animals, transforming industry and our world. Much of that industry is happening in plastics. A conversation I laughed at for its irony I can now see as prophetic.

As a newbie to 3D printing and confronted every day with environmental concerns about the plastic we discard, one of my first questions was about sustainability.

It turns out there’s way more to the picture than roll after roll of plastic filament stretching into the distant future. In fact, the 3D print industry is already becoming a significant force in its contribution to the conversation on sustainability even as many begin to work on the factors that could contribute to making 3D printing anti-sustainability.

Can 3D printed plastics protect the environment?

The question of sustainability with regard to 3D printing doesn’t result in simple and clear-cut answers despite lots of enthusiasm for potentialities.

I looked at 3 aspects of the 3D printing industry to understand how it might contribute to a sustainable future:

The nature of the process, that is, how 3D printing works

Concepts related to sustainability that are coming out of 3D print technology

Current projects that are contributing to sustainability

There is so much going on, but I’ve selected just a very few recent stories in each category.

2 Ways 3D printing works and how they contribute to a sustainable future

Anything that can be designed and 3D printed removes from the equation the energy involved in transportation.

One of the things that 3D print designers love about this technology is that an idea can be generated on one side of the world, put into code, transmitted in nano-seconds to the other side of the world and produced on-site for review, evaluation and adjustments. These adjustments can be returned to the designer via the internet.

The old model for manufacturing was to produce a mass of items in the hope they would sell. The new model for manufacturing is to 3D print exactly what has been sold or is needed.

In addition, 3D printing is additive. Instead of taking a pile of material, using what is needed and dealing with a remainder as in traditional manufacturing . . . material is added in layers exactly as needed without the cutaway waste.

There are disclaimers: one is that many 3D projects require supports which are discarded after manufacture. Smart developers are producing new solutions to this and other problems every day.

3 Concepts from 3D printing that contribute to sustainability

Modeling (Rapid Prototyping). The possibility of creating models during the planning stage saves time, energy and material in every area of endeavor, from medicine to city planning to agriculture to food and much more.

“Most current 3D printers are not used to create final consumer products. Rather, they are generally employed for rapid product prototyping, or to produce moulds or mould masters that will in turn allow the production of final items. Such printing of 3D objects already enables engineers to check the fit of different parts long before they commit to costly production, architects to show detailed and relatively low-cost scale models to their clients, and medical professionals or archaeologists to handle full-size, 3D copies of bones printed from 3D scan data. There are also a wide range of educational uses.”

Going local. Items that typically involve manufacturing or harvesting in distant locations and shipping can be 3D printed as locally as in your own home.

“This new paradigm could change the meaning of “going local.” With consumers printing at home, emissions from transporting finished products could fall. Future printing with locally recycled feedstock could substantially reduce emissions from shipping raw materials as well. This create-on-demand model is also much more efficient than mass-producing and shipping potentially unwanted, excess items, and could eventually cut down on the need for product packaging.”

2 Current practical applications contributing to sustainability

Plastic Waste (recycling and repurposing).

Plastic Bank. This is a project I love — a recycling project that is so much more than recycling! Not only does this project work to reduce the impact of plastic on our environment, it empowers the deeply disadvantaged in the process.

From TechRepublic: “Society does not fully value plastic. That’s the idea behind the Plastic Bank, which calls for harvesting and repurposing plastic, turning it into a valuable currency.”

I’m not yet going to list these 3D food printed applications as current and practical because they are in early experimental stages, but someday it will be possible for those who eat meat to eat it without the tremendous toll on our environment and our fellow creatures.

Edible Growth by Chloe Rutzerveld

Here’s one last useful food idea I want to watch: Edible Growth, by food and concept designer Chloé Rutzerveld. The project is described in her blog and in CNet.

Imagine the impact on our environment and on nutritionally disadvantaged populations when these 3D printed applications toward a more sustainable future are fully realized.

Follow us on Twitter (@3dprintingisfun) and like us on Facebook. Subscribe to this blog, or visit us at shop3duniverse.com.

Share this:

Looking to expand your 3D printing horizons beyond ABS and PLA? Then look no further… Taulman 3D has launched a Kickstarter campaign for SIX new specialty filaments.

These materials are already developed and community tested. The Kickstarter campaign is strictly to raise enough money to go to full-scale production.

3D Universe is proud to be one of Taulman 3D’s testers, so we were lucky enough to get our hands on samples of all these materials, and we were very impressed with the results and ease of printability.

Tritan

Tritan is a new high tensile strength material. Tensile Stress (PSI) of 6,600 lbs, Modulus (PSI) 53,000, E@B was 18.7% “When 3D Printed”. The reports from testers continue to confirm that Tritan is the strongest material they have printed. To include bonding, bridging, non-stringing and extremely low warping.

Summary:

Glass clear

FDA approved raw material

Excellent bonding makes for shatter proof parts.

Prints at ~270C on clean glass heated to 85C

PCTPE (A Plasticized Copolyamide TPE)

An extremely flexible yet durable and strong TPE and nylon based material. PCTPE was designed to be both highly flexible, yet retain the durability of nylons. Single perimeter parts can be wadded into a ball, yet are difficult to stretch out of shape. With a lower printing temperature than our nylons, PCTPE easily prints on any 3D printer, as it requires only 225C – 230C. While extremely flexible, the nylon insures 1.75mm line is no problem for direct drive or bowdens feed systems. That determination was made by our testers, as every sample of PCTPE sent out was 1.75mm.

Summary:

Prints at 225C – 230C on glass w/PVA heated to 45C

Elongation @ Break = 370%+

Excellent bonding even at 0.3mm nozzle size

ARCbio PLA

ARCbio is a new high strength, crystal clear PLA, biodegradable material. ARCbio is a very new polymer developed specifically for it’s strength, clarity, and light transmission. The natural color of ARCbio is clear and Aspen Research has worked to develop a PLA the stays clear during thermal processing, thus eliminating the common “yellow tinge” seen in other PLAs. Unlike t-glase, ARCbio is more optically transmissive rather than reflective.

Summary:

Prints at 205C to 210C on clean glass/acrylic or warm bed with Kapton/Blue Painters tape

FDA approved raw material

Glass clear

Non-Yellowing

Tech-G

Tech-G is an extremely tough PETG polymer with full FDA approved raw polymer documentation and certification. Tech-G will be released as a technical “Fully Documented” material with the intent to provide Engineers, Design houses and Industry with a material that comes with hundreds of specifications as to strength, chemical resistance, worldwide certifications and technical data sheets. A simple scan of the QR code on our label will take you directly to our documentation site for Tech-G . You’ll be able to download all of the documentation provided from the chemical company and the St. Louis Test Labs. Working with one of the largest Chemical companies offering PETG variants, we have selected and tested the one chemical configuration that provides the best viscosity, lowest shrinkage and best bonding for 3D Printing.

Nylon 680 FDA

After almost a year of testing by users worldwide, nylon 680 FDA approved raw material polymer is ready for release. Nylon 680 is an extremely tough semi-transparent line with one of the highest impact ratings and least shrinkage of all of the taulman3D nylon materials. Nylon 680 FDA will have “traceability” via QR codes. Nylon 680 is currently under evaluation for CE Dental use.

Summary:

Print temperature is 245C

FDA approved raw material

Double Vacuum sealed

Bio-G

Bio-G is a new BPETG that has significant biodegradable features. When your design, idea or invention requires a biodegradable super tough polymer, one that you can count on to survive significant shock and resist harsh chemicals, Bio-G is there to support you. Bio-G is relatively new on the market and has gone through significant testing to meet several certifications. Like all taulman3D materials, you can count on printing huge pieces with no delamination.

I just ordered some of this new bronze filament. It is made up of 80% real powdered bronze. It prints on normal FDM type 3D printers, but after polishing, it looks like actual bronze, as you can see in the photo below.

It looks beautiful, and I can’t wait to try it, but I do have to say – it’s pretty expensive stuff! A 1.5kg spool of it, including DHL shipping to the USA from The Netherlands, was $130. I’ve calculated this to be about 11 times as expensive as an equivalent amount of ABS.

Here’s my math on that:(Note: I’m not great at math, so let me know if you see anything I missed)

Based on weight, the bronzeFill is only 2.9 times more expensive than ABS. But because the bronzeFill is so dense, a 1kg spool only has about 106 meters of 1.75mm filament on it. So when it comes to how much you can actually print with it, you need to compare cost per meter. Based on that, we have a cost difference of about 11x.

A Bronze 3D Printed Prosthetic Hand??

I personally don’t mind the price if this stuff performs like I hope it will. I’ll just need to use it sparingly.

But I have a special purpose in mind. I know a young lady (in her 20’s) whose dream is to receive a metallic version of a Cyborg Beast 3D printed prosthetic hand (she was born without most of her fingers on one hand) and has always had self-confidence issues as a result.

Before coming across bronzeFill, I was looking at ways of 3D printing a Cyborg Beast in ABS and then applying some kind of metallic plating to that after printing to achieve the look she wants. Now, I’m thinking that maybe I can use my dual extruder FlashForge Creator X to print the shells of the parts in bronzeFill and print the infill and supports in PLA (plastic).

I use Simplify3D software, which is one of the few programs that makes this possible. I can choose which extruder to use for the outlines (the shells of each object), the infill, and the support.

I have no idea if this will work, but the bronzeFill seems to be based on a PLA material, so I’m guessing it’s going to be able to stick to the PLA in a dual-extruded print. Even if it doesn’t work, it’ll be a fun experiment!

While discussing the bronzeFill material, someone in the e-NABLE volunteer community recently asked how much it costs to print a Cyborg Beast (how much filament it takes), and how much it would cost if bronzeFill was used.

Total cost for a bronzeFill Cyborg Beast print: $55.76
Total cost with assembly materials: $100.76

As you can see, when we factor in the cost of assembly materials, we find that a hand printed entirely in bronzeFill would only cost twice as much as one printed in ABS. Not too bad…

However, a hand printed entirely in bronzeFill will weigh close to 1kg, which is way too heavy for a prosthetic hand. That’s what gave me this idea to try printing the shells in bronzeFill and the infill and support in PLA. I’m hoping this will result in a nice bronze outer shell, with the lighter weight PLA material filling in the inside of the parts. I’m guessing this should reduce the overall weight significantly (compared to an all bronzeFill print).

Hopefully, the bronzeFill will arrive soon, as I can’t wait to get started with the experiment! Regardless of the outcome, I’ll post again with the results, including photos and videos.

Share this:

Barbara Busatta and Dario Buzzini, designers based in NYC, have created a free instructional guide for creating 3D designs that look exceptionally good when printed with consumer-level 3D printers.

By recognizing the limitations of Fused Filament Fabrication (specifically, imperfections or unwanted textures in the surface finish), they came up with a brilliant approach for overcoming this issue. The objects you see above and below are exactly how they look, straight off the 3D printer. I know because I’ve tested them myself! These designs have been released as open source, so anyone can download and print them.

Use their simple and effective design technique, then swap filament colors during your print (pause print, change color, resume print), and you can achieve results like this:

To read about their design approach in detail, please visit Pirate3D’s Blog

The KickStarter campaign for the Strooder just launched! Check it out here!

Anyone who spends a lot of time with 3D printing eventually starts to look at how to reduce the cost of filament. It’s the biggest ongoing cost of 3D printing by far, so it’s where we naturally look for savings. A typical spool of filament weighs 1kg and typically costs around $30-45 (USD) for ABS or PLA, the most common 3D printing materials. Costs vary for other kinds of materials, but most of them are more than ABS or PLA.

Once my wife saw all of my filament orders, she started asking if there was a way to make our own for a lower cost. I told her about filament extruders, which have been around for a while. She loved the idea, but when we looked at available options, we found that 1) everything currently available was either in a kit form, over-priced, or both. A kit would have been fine and could have been a fun project for us, but . . . 2) the available designs tend to look like something built from spare parts out of someone’s garage, and 3) the general consensus in online discussions seemed to be that it was difficult to obtain consistent results from available models and that it may end up being more hassle than it’s worth currently. So, I continued buying filament online.

Several months later, along came Strooder:

I had a chance to talk to the founders of the company behind this attractive device via Skype the other day. Greg Gruszecki and David Graves are two robotics engineers in Bristol, UK who joined forces and founded OmniDynamics. They started out working on an overall robotic system but they found themselves limited by the lack of materials available for prototyping. Strooder, therefore, became a vital stepping stone to enable the company to achieve those initial goals in the future, by enabling faster, lower cost prototypes and the use of more exotic materials.

They turned their attention towards developing a consumer-oriented filament extruder. As you can see from the above and below photos, design was an important consideration from day one. It was important that the final design be something people would want to have sitting on their desk, next to that fancy 3D printer. I’d say they hit the mark there:

Along with design, their focus was on being able to help lower overall filament costs and increase the range of material options available for consumer-level 3D printers.

The initial investment seems reasonable, especially compared to other existing options. The Strooder will have an early-bird Kickstarter price of about $250 (149 GBP) and a final retail price of about $420 (249 GBP).

OmniDynamics plans to sell ABS and PLA pellets for somewhere around 20% the normal cost of filament spools. They also plan to offer a variety of colors, and eventually additional materials, so that users can mix up custom colors and obtain specific physical properties by mixing different pellets in the hopper.

Aside from being cost effective, the Strooder is also environmentally friendly. I have bins of material left over from failed prints:

So now I’ll be able to cut up those failed prints (into pieces no larger than about 1 inch) and feed them into the Strooder to make new filament! Recycled prints can be combined with new pellets to help prevent the material from breaking down from too many repeated extrusions.

Of course, I haven’t had the opportunity to use one myself, but having spoken to Gruszecki and Graves, I can tell you this much: I intend to back their Kickstarter campaign. Here’s why:

Having seen other similar Kickstarter campaigns, and knowing the demand for a solution like this, I have a feeling their campaign will succeed, so the risk seems fairly low to me, given the early-bird cost

It comes fully assembled and ready to use

It includes an easily-swappable nozzle for 1.75mm, 2.85mm, or 3mm filament

It has an interactive onboard display so you can easily select what material and nozzle size you’re using, and the machine will determine all of the appropriate settings for you

It’s designed with safety in mind (i.e. active protection against overheating, no exposed parts that could burn someone)

Once their company has revenues coming in, they plan to develop and offer a filament spool winder, as well as a grinder for recycling failed prints, which, when combined with the Strooder, will provide a complete desktop filament production solution.

Their testing so far has yielded very consistent results. They claim you can load a full hopper of material, push the button, and walk away. I pointed out that, while that may be true, you would probably come back to find a tangled heap of filament on the ground. That’s when we started talking about their plans for the prints grinder and filament spool winder. They might end up offering those as part of a stretch goal for the Kickstarter campaign, but that hasn’t been determined yet.

In order to help ensure the highest quality results, the OmniDynamics team has been focusing their testing primarily on PLA, which is somewhat more challenging to extrude properly than ABS. Most other designers of filament extruders seem to focus more on ABS and sometimes have difficulties with PLA. Later, OmniDynamics plans to offer the ability to work with other materials in addition to ABS and PLA, such as HDPE, PP, and LDPE.

Autodesk just announced two things that could be significant for 3D printing:

An open software platform for 3D printing called Spark. This platform will make it more reliable yet simpler to print 3D models and easier to control how that model is actually printed.

Their own 3D printer that will serve as a “reference implementation for Spark. Autodesk President and CEO Carl Bass says this printer “will demonstrate the power of the Spark platform and set a new benchmark for the 3D printing user experience.”

Autodesk has already supported the 3D printing community in a major way, especially when it comes to students and educators. They have also actively supported the e-NABLE community and other sources of crowd-based innovation. This announcement further demonstrates their commitment to contribute to an important technology already having a very positive impact around the world.

Regarding licensing for their new software and hardware, Autodesk says:

Spark will be open and freely licensable to hardware manufacturers and others who are interested. Same for our 3D printer – the design of the printer will be made publicly available to allow for further development and experimentation. The printer will be able to use a broad range of materials, made by us and by others, and we look forward to lots of exploration into new materials.

Spark’s open licensing could have a significant impact. Think about how far 3D printing has come in recent years. This growth and development has primarily been the result of open source designs (for example, the RepRap), shared with the world, picked up by others, further developed, re-released, and so on.

Now, Autodesk, a company with significant financial and personnel assets, will give that very active global community an open software and hardware platform. This offering will provide an opportunity to address many of the common complaints with the current state of 3D printing.

The details on Autodesk’s new software and hardware platforms are scarce for now, but Autodesk says both be available later this year.

The printer sure looks pretty, but I’m actually more interested in the software side of Autodesk’s announcement. The whole 3D printing workflow could be significantly improved with 1) better software and 2) moving away from the STL file format in favor of a format developed specifically with today’s (and tomorrow’s) 3D printers and materials in mind.

My experience with Autodesk’s software so far has shown me they know how to build applications that provide a smooth user experience. I can think of no other company that knows 3D modeling and 3D file formats better than them.

I don’t know exactly what features their software and hardware will include, but I’m confident both will be of a high quality. Since the software is open and hardware designs will be released, others will be free to build upon these offerings. I’m guessing it will further accelerate an already rapidly developing technology.

We’ve waited for the “big players” to get into 3D printing. HP and Epson are still getting ready, and we know they’ll shake things up when they do. Whatever they offer, though, it’s not likely to be shared or licensed freely. Autodesk is making a significant contribution here.

If you’d like to sign up to be notified as more information becomes available from Autodesk, please visit here.

Taulman 3D recently released a new nylon filament called “Bridge”, so named because it bridges the excellent qualities of other nylon filaments with the lower cost and ease of use found in more common ABS and PLA filaments.

Unlike other Nylon filaments, this one can be printed on glass, with a thin coat of PVA glue. Bed adhesion and warping challenges have been significantly reduced. This filament also absorbs much less moisture than previous nylon filaments.

Share this:

I’m really enjoying this Taulman T-Glase material. It has great optical properties, as you can see in the photo. It sticks great to Kapton tape, and it prints at about the same temperature as ABS, so my setup doesn’t even need any changes to print with T-Glase.

Taulman also has T-Glase in color. The only print difference is that the dyes for PETT retain heat longer, so you’ll want to make sure your material fan is “ON”. Also, as the dyes are molecular solids, they inhibit the light pipe capability, so
users will have to use colored lights and clear t-glase with light pipe designs. (For a description and photos of light pipes, see the bottom of this page: http://www.taulman3d.com/t-glase-features.html)

Share this:

Beautiful, isn’t it? Click on the photo for the full resolution version.

This material just arrived today. It’s Taulman T-Glase (short for “Tough Glass”). This stuff is nylon based, so it’s super-strong, it has terrific optical properties, and it’s FDA approved for direct food contact. It’s also fully reclaimable, so you can melt down failed prints and extrude new filament from it. You can even mix in up to 12% of the total weight with plastic water bottles!

I think this is going to be really nice for jewelry, like earrings and bracelets. Going to try some of those out soon.

This vase came out nicely, except for some minor layering defects near the top, where it curves outward. I should be able to correct that by reducing the print speed as it approaches that part of the print.